The processed meats industry in the UK and Ireland is likely to see sales fall after the Food Standards Authority of Ireland (FSAI) found many supermarket beef burgers were contaminated with pig and horse meat, according to Shore Capital market analyst.

FSAI found that 37% of products sampled from major UK and Irish retailers contained horse DNA, while 85% contained pig DNA. The products were generally discounted, cheaper private label lines from supermarkets including Aldi, Dunnes Stores, Iceland, Lidl and Tesco.

Shore Capital’s Darren Shirley wrote in an analyst’s note: “What the adulteration may do, temporarily or otherwise, is damage the reputation and so sell through rate of processed meats such as beef burgers.”

However, those retailers currently implicated were unlikely to see sales fall due to the defined nature of the contamination, while those retailers that have not yet been implicated were likely to be testing their products, he said.

“Whilst there is no suggestion of a food safety issue at this stage, there is an issue of consumer deception and offence, given the deeply different cultural perception of horse meat in the British Isles compared to many other markets."

Noting a possible benefit for Irish and UK-produced beef, he added: "It is not unreasonable to suspect that the source of the contaminated product is likely to be meat imported from outside the British Isles."

‘Unacceptable’: FSAI

Chief executive of FSAI Professor Alan Reilly said that there was a plausible explanation for the presence of pig DNA in beef burgers, because meat from different animals is processed in the same meat plants. However, he said there was no clear explanation for the presence of horse DNA in products from plants that do not process horse meat.

He said in a statement: “In Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horsemeat and therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger. Likewise, for some religious groups or people who abstain from eating pig meat, the presence of traces of pig DNA is unacceptable. We are working with the meat processing plants and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Marine to find out how horse DNA could have found its way into these products.”

EU source?

The FSAI named three meat processors with samples containing traces of horse meat, Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods in Ireland and Dalepak Hambleton in the UK.

Liffey Meats said in statement that the levels of detection were minute – all under 0.1%.

“Liffey Meats has never produced, purchased or traded any equine products,” it said, adding that the equine DNA was found in raw material imported from an EU approved plant that was certified as coming from bovine sources only.

“We now believe that such imported ingredients were the ultimate source of the DNA traces found in some of our products,” it said.

Tesco Everyday Value beef burgers contained by far the most horse DNA, with 29.1% relative to beef content, according to the FSAI test results. The next highest scoring product – Oakhurst beef burgers from Aldi – contained 0.3% horse DNA, and all others tested positive at very low levels.

All of the retailers involved have removed potentially affected products from their shelves.

This content is copyright protected

However, if you would like to share the information in this article, you may use the headline, summary and link below:

The processed meats industry in the UK and Ireland is likely to see sales fall after the Food Standards Authority of Ireland (FSAI) found many supermarket beef burgers were contaminated with pig and horse meat, according to Shore Capital market analyst.

RELATED TOPICS:

4 comments(Comments are now closed)

What's in a "Burger"

This is not a matter of food safety or deception, but that of journalism. Industrial burgers are traditionally made from beef meat, homemade
burgers are made from "what's available that day" including cereals, pork, poultry meat etc. etc. ask any American housewife.

Report abuse

Posted by Erik Jensen18 January 2013 | 09h292013-01-18T09:29:30Z

Mr

About a year ago, in USA one factory had to shut down. It was producing SLIME sausages. I still have my douths if it was meat or resedue from meats cut at the butcher shop, by means of a blade machine. The resedue that get stuck inside the machine is collected and produced as sausages.The contents has a great amount of fat, in paste form, not noticed as it takes the pinkish colour.Bread is also mixed as a filler.If you test your blood gluco it's enough to show the presence of bread.

Report abuse

Posted by H Galea16 January 2013 | 21h042013-01-16T21:04:38Z

Mr

I say check also the ''CornedBeef'' Tins.
In my younger days, we used to carry horses from Morroco and Tunisa to my country.....later exports of Corned beef tins. If you exam the corned beef, notice it's cut across the grain, and some are thicker in length, then the rest.Also the taste it noticed.

Report abuse

Posted by H Galea16 January 2013 | 20h532013-01-16T20:53:14Z

Mr

Perhaps this mix has been on the market long enough we can not date it back.The only problem about horsemeat is that it is too rich, it effects the red blood cells, so the flow of oxygen to the brain.The warning was eat once in a while.In Holland horse meat as bacon is sold in shops.I perhaps ate it from Lidl, the taste is different, it's dry as compared to other meat.The colour is darker, and even in texture.

Related products

Live Supplier Webinar

23-Mar-2015 - The inaugural FoodNavigator Business Leaders Forum brings together top executives from some of the most innovative food and drink companies in Europe.We’ll discuss the hottest trends in the industry, successful strategies in new product development, and the biggest challenges facing...

Technical / white paper

23-Feb-2015 - Globalisation has also taken place in the food industry, food trends and new products are spreading. As a top manufacturer you want to fulfil the needs of consumers from different cultures and with different perceptions. Learn what all consumers have...